Saturday, October 13, 2012

Video: Coconut Milk Whipped Cream Ghosts!

I haven't quit Vegan MoFo! The reason I missed yesterday's post is that I worked on a coconut whipped cream video all day. By the end of the day I had no energy left to blog! A few of you guys said you had trouble turning a can of coconut milk into a whipped cream that would hold its shape, so I set out to solve the coconut cream mystery! I think it comes down to the brand of coconut milk and the type of sweetener that we use.

* Thai Kitchen Organic Coconut Milk (not "lite") works every time. The non-organic does not! They both have the same ingredients and nutritional info, but for some reason only the organic coconut milk works.

* You have to refrigerate it for at least six hours! Overnight is best, so you can be sure the fat has separated from the liquid. When you are ready to open the can, remember to be gentle and never shake it.

* The best choice of sweetener if you really want a stiff whipped cream is powdered sugar. If you want to use a liquid sweetener like maple syrup, keep in mind that more than two tablespoons per can would make your cream too soft. If I am not using it to decorate anything, I prefer a softer, creamier, maple-syrup sweetened cream. If I need it to hold its shape well, I use powdered sugar. You can try Stevia too!

* Keeping your the bowl of your mixer cold helps if you're a bit of a slowpoke! :)

* When you're ready to decorate your tart, cake, or whatever you're making - try to keep your hands cool to keep the cream in the pastry/decorating bag/ziploc from melting! Squeeze a bag of frozen peas or wrap your hands around a cold bottle of beer, pickles, ketchup, or whatever you have.

OK, I think that's all. This four minute video took me all day! Sorry the lighting in my kitchen is so crappy. For this whipped cream I tried to recreate a "worst case scenario". I used a liquid sweetener instead of powdered sugar, so the cream is at its softest, and I used a ziploc bag instead of a piping bag with a metal decorating tip and coupler. Also, I am standing at a weird angle because the camera is where I would normally stand, so a few of my ghosts are a bit crooked! And because I am an airhead, I decorated the whole tart only to realize that the camera wasn't recording, so I had to remove all the ghosts and do it all again. Anyway, I hope this helps! (Warning: loud background music!)

The only problem with the little ghosties is that they are very filling! One can of coconut milk makes enough whipped cream to ghostify two mini tarts or one big one, but then you can only eat a little sliver of tart before you're super stuffed. Doing only a small little cluster of ghosts in the center of the tart is a good alternative! Enjoy!

Thank you! I hope the video helps those who can't get their coconut milk to cooperate. I must have listened to a million songs trying to find what I wanted - in the end they all started to sound a like! :D

Love the video (my fave part is the finger through the hole--ha ha!!). I think I see the problem. . . I don't have a kitchenaid, so I'm whipping with a hand beater, and I'm just not getting that kind of stiffness/volume. It's like a creme fraiche texture. . . pourable, not pipeable. Did enjoy the song, too, though! :D

You could be on to something! This was the first time I used my big mixer to make this (I needed something hands-free so I could control the camera.) I always use my hand mixer which is actually WAY more powerful. If your mixer is not as powerful as my fairly weak stand mixer (it's actually a Hamilton Beach, not a Kitchenaid!) then that could be the problem! In case you are interested, my super powerful hand mixer is a 5 Speed Cuisinart Power Select. I don't see that one on Amazon.com anymore, but they do have a 7 speed.

Good luck - and just so you know, your whipped coconut cream from Sweet Freedom is actually lighter and tastier! I wish I could whisk you away to my kitchen so you could test-drive my mixer! Haha haha *snort*

Thanks! It depends on how sweet you want it to be. Two tablespoons of sifted powdered sugar is enough for me, but you can always taste it and keep adding more until you're happy with it. The more powdered sugar you add, the stiffer the whipped cream will be!

Thanks so much for making this, River. I super thoroughly enjoyed watching it I need to try straight away. I'm thinking trifle with ghosts on top? I dunno, but I've never made trifle before either and it sounds good!!!

Good idea! I made some Strawberry Santa Hats today using coconut whipped cream and it wasn't quite as firm as it usually is, but I did use a different brand that I was trying out. It's called "Golden Star". It made more cream, but it was pretty soft. Making coconut whipped cream is such tricky business!

I wouldn't risk it because it is a very soft cream. Would it be a big hassle to take the cream in a bowl inside a cooler and frost the cake when you get there? Then you could just bring a whisk to fluff it up and a spatula to cover the cake when you get to the party. If you sweeten it with powdered sugar you will get a firmer cream than if you use maple syrup or another liquid sweetener. Good luck!

Welcome to Wing It Vegan! I am River and this blog is where I keep track of my favorite recipes. Hopefully you will find some new favorites here as well! Please, don't run away scared if you're not vegan! I promise I won't throw rotten beets or snarky judgments at you. MORE